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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

So I am over at Burrowers, Books & Balderdash today giving the skinny on DATES, what is REQUIRED, who JUDGES, how many PROCEED, and PRIZES, but I thought HERE we might spend a little time talking about what a person might do during those long WAITS between rounds...

My experience is (possibly because I am self-centered) that MOSTLY you only pay attention as long as you are still IN... I mean sure, there is the back-patting thing for your friends who make various rounds, but during the month I was IN last year, it was highly stressful and my need to talk about it consumed a lot of my time and energy... I didn't have it in me to keep up with it at that level once I was knocked out... here is how I spent it...

During the Month of JANUARY

Write, edit, polish as much as humanly possible.
Take advantage of trading for help in ABNA threads, Facebook groups, or by email.
Bore all your uninterested friends with ad nauseum info on the topic.

Once you have Pressed SUBMIT

Go to ABNA forums and try to figure out who is interesting and clever.
Make comments on said fora in an effort at looking witty.
Tentatively talk to people who seem impressive in hopes of making friends.
Hide.
Look up people on Facebook and add them to 'friends'.
Consider querying but not your confidence is entirely too low.
Consider writing but note you are obsessed with your already entered story.
Write a chapter for each of your ongoing fan fiction stories (maybe this is just me).
Panic.
Eat badly.
Pull eating back in check and realize you don't need your concentration to power walk.
Pull out one of your other books and read it.
Curse self for not submitting THIS ONE instead.
Read blogs about first chapters.
Curse self for not having more gripping first chapter.
Blog about your anxiety.
Blog about blogging.
Blog about online friends.
Panic again.
Realize you've been neglecting pretty much everything.
Go back to ABNA fora. You are not alone.

If you make Second Round (Pure speculation. I have not DONE this). (1000 do 10%)

Squee a lot.
Swear, but in a good way.
Try desperately which friends you can celebrate with and who is in mourning at being out.
Panic.
Reread your excerpt and decide it will never make it.
Cruise the ABNA boards trying to make NEW friends as the last batch has dwindled.
Realize you have a non-ABNA related deadline you can't ignore and try writing.
Give in to lousy first drafts.
Duck head and commit to getting on with it.
Check ABNA boards and Facebook from work just to... make sure...
Blog about anticipation.
Blog about lack of concentration.
Blog about crossing appendages.
Hide.

If you make Quarter-Finals (again... speculation.... 500 make it 5%)

Freak out.
Tell the World.
Babble incoherently.
Call your mother.
Bring up that you WRITE with people you've never talked to about it before.
Panic.
Go back and forth between TELLING PEOPLE and HIDING that your excerpt is not ONLINE.
Look for feedback.
Try feebly to finish book for deadline.
Panic at feedback.
Lose heart.
Hide.
Peek again.
Cling to anything non-negative.
Blog about ambiguity.
Blog about insanity.
Blog about purple things.
Consider superstitious rituals.

If you make Semi-Finals (total speculation: 100 make it 1%)

Commit to freakout.
Give April and May up as a bad job.

If you make FINALS (wildest fantasy: 6 make it)

Beg every person ever met to read and vote on book.
Work the social marketing to best of ability.
Curse not polishing deadline book earlier.
Email every NYC friend and beg to see them when there.
Hyperventilate.

20 comments:

OMG, it reminds me of having a baby! Pave & Babble & tell random strangers & hyperventilate & Blog about it. You've had a well-invested year of writing practice since then, so you're likely to do better. No promises of a raging triumph, but you'll do better.

Wow!!! What an emotional roller coaster for everyone entering ABNA!!!! I wish everyone all the very best - good luck, big hugs and may the writing amazonian gods and goddesses shine upon you and your baby novel!!!!

oh dear, I suppose this isn't too much different thatn the odds of sending it over and over again to different agents and publishers only to be rejected over and over again. As if we were in third grade and had to try out for the choir or glee club or whatever. And we never get to just grow up and be accepted as we are. I get panicky and freaked out just reading it and I'm NOT IN IT - you are! GAWD!!! good luck and anything I can do short of doing it give me a buzz. I'll vote for you or whatever. Rah rah...excruciating. I adore you that you will try this again. You mutt you!

The only thing I miss about going for the ABNA is the forums -- I had fun on them last year. Enough witty people to entertain and intimidate me. And that's how I met met you, Hart -- cyberly speaking. So it was worth it. But I am SO DEFINITELY glad I'm not going for it this year, for the same list of reasons (panic, sweat, dread, hope!) that you list. ENORMOUS good luck to you, and here's to seeing your name among the finalists!

The Naked Tart

I write books from my bathtub and blog in my basement. For a full bio on the 3 faces of me, check out the tab. As for the shenanigans around here... Confessions of a Watery Tart is my primary blog. It has lots on writing, some life... mostly I just want to encourage you to play with me. Silliness abounds. I also have a Song of Ice and Fire Blog because frankly I'm obsessed and have tons of theories and ideas, so I decided to give myself a place to channel those besides brief facebook comments.
Facebook: Hart Johnson
Twitter: hartjohnson